Even if it was the general public it still sounds a bit elitist in any sense. You can circle back through the threads and see its a trend.

Yes, I was talking about the generalized public of the area I reside. If you feel that I am an elitist, I might be. However, others on here would laugh at you. Actually, they probably are. Just like they do for the rest of you posts.

O and just remember, you called me out. Have a good day :insert smiley face here:

Posted on: 2013/2/7 13:34

_________________
“My mom is being eaten by a dog and there’s nothing I can do!”

if u actually look at the definition of the word elite it pretty much means the best of the group, so yes there are elite fly fisherman just like there is a elite group in everything...its the way that a person conducts them some that makes them the snobs....i have said it before on other forums, i guess im one of the lucky ones, i have spend alot of time in fly areas and i have never ran into anybody like that...when i first started to fly fish i got alot of help from different people along the stream...i have fish a very long time and most of the time i was using spinning gear and thats when i run into very rude people (not a knock on spin fishing guys)....in the 4 years that i have been hardcore at fly fishing i have met alot of people and made some great friends, in the years before that i dont think i have ever really made a friendship along a stream......so if u ever see me in my orvis waders, wading jacket and boots, my fishpond vest and my orvis rod with lamson reel dont be afraid to stop and talk with me, im sure i will give you a few flies also.

I just wish I was as great at the sport, and had the vast knowledge that you do. I mean its a wonder you gained all this knowledge in your 3 years or so of fly fishing.

your smart remarks about people who use other methods of fly fishing, as well as remarks about people who fish for stocked trout, or jabs at members for other reasons are great examples of how you are not an elitist, or how you don't judge other fisherman who do not fish the same way that you do. I stand corrected.

Please send me a signed copy of your book or video when you come out with it. I know that by cruising an internet forum all day, and having a blog are great credentials of how great and how vast your knowledge of fly fishing is.

Posted on: 2013/2/7 13:41

_________________
"There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process."

mike_richardson wrote:I just wish I was as great at the sport, and had the vast knowledge that you do. I mean its a wonder you gained all this knowledge in your 3 years or so of fly fishing.

your smart remarks about people who use other methods of fly fishing, as well as remarks about people who fish for stocked trout, or jabs at members for other reasons are great examples of how you are not an elitist, or how you don't judge other fisherman who do not fish the same way that you do. I stand corrected.

Please send me a signed copy of your book or video when you come out with it. I know that by cruising an internet forum all day, and having a blog are great credentials of how great and how vast your knowledge of fly fishing is.

Correct thank you. :: insert winky face with tounge out::

Not to toot my own horn, but I am one of the nicest guys to fish with and give a lot of time to helping whoever I can. I am sorry you can not take my sense of humor and soft jabbs of busting balls. You should just stick with TAP, possibly your own kind? Snobby enough for you?

Posted on: 2013/2/7 13:44

_________________
“My mom is being eaten by a dog and there’s nothing I can do!”

I think it is reality - although most fly guys are decent folks. I try a lot of techniques from jig fishing with spinning/bait caster tackle to center pinning. I also have a soft spot for the fly rod lures old-timers used when I was a kid. And do I ever get nasty comments when I'm not 100% traditional. I even like to experiment with my fly fishing. The biggest argument I got into on stream was a few years back when I made a fly rod with single footed guides to check out if the claims for single footed guides were valid. Went to the FFO area a few blocks from my home for a few first casts. The local fly fishermen claimed it wasn't a fly rod unless it had snake guides and it turned real ugly real fast. Ended up with a call to the CO, who fortunately sided with me. Some of the traditional wet fly and Catskill style dry fly tiers go crazy with who is authentic and who is not. I know a few of the old tiers recognized as the masters of the trade and they find some of this purist stuff funny - they were just trying to tie flies that caught fish with the stuff they had.

Coming from a bait family and world, that's true, there's definitely different groups among spin/bait fishermen. And there are some good ones and bad ones everywhere. But a lot of it is highly regional, I think.

I grew up fishing mostly NW PA. And in most places, it's still hard to even find a fly fisherman unless you go to the more famous special reg areas, like Oil Creek or Caldwell. The stereotype was reversed! Fly fishermen only fish crowded shoulder to shoulder spots. You'll rarely see them on an unstocked stream, unless there are posters up saying it's special reg. And you'll almost never see them stray far from access points. They're rude and they tend to crowd you. They wade out in the middle where the fish are and spook them all because they can't cast far enough. They tend to fish when the water is too warm; fish tend to take those small flies deep; and they overplay fish, so mortality is higher.

And it was true. Because in that area, experienced fishermen tended to stick with spinning gear and bait. Fly fishermen were mostly beginners who didn't know what they were doing.

Boy, what a culture shock when I moved across the state. Pretty much the opposite was true.

I find myself in the middle ground. My family is "ultra baitfishing" if you will. They are more on the equal access side however. They don't care what your fishing with. To them fishing is fishing. They don't stereotype flyfisherman.

I have been in meetings and heard stories of the early days from meetings where the room would be packed with elitists, far greater than those i had mentioned earlier. Maybe purist is the better word. The purists would even denounce the other flyfisherman present at the meetings who would use beads or splitshot.

I think that the extremes on both ends are where the "myths" are generated.

Posted on: 2013/2/7 14:00

_________________
"There he stands, draped in more equipment than a telephone lineman, trying to outwit an organism with a brain no bigger than a breadcrumb, and getting licked in the process."

mike_richardson wrote:I just wish I was as great at the sport, and had the vast knowledge that you do. I mean its a wonder you gained all this knowledge in your 3 years or so of fly fishing.

your smart remarks about people who use other methods of fly fishing, as well as remarks about people who fish for stocked trout, or jabs at members for other reasons are great examples of how you are not an elitist, or how you don't judge other fisherman who do not fish the same way that you do. I stand corrected.

Please send me a signed copy of your book or video when you come out with it. I know that by cruising an internet forum all day, and having a blog are great credentials of how great and how vast your knowledge of fly fishing is.

Correct thank you. :: insert winky face with tounge out::

Not to toot my own horn, but I am one of the nicest guys to fish with and give a lot of time to helping whoever I can. I am sorry you can not take my sense of humor and soft jabbs of busting balls. You should just stick with TAP, possibly your own kind? Snobby enough for you?

Coming from a bait family and world, that's true, there's definitely different groups among spin/bait fishermen. And there are some good ones and bad ones everywhere. But a lot of it is highly regional, I think.

I grew up fishing mostly NW PA. And in most places, it's still hard to even find a fly fisherman unless you go to the more famous special reg areas, like Oil Creek or Caldwell. The stereotype was reversed! Fly fishermen only fish crowded shoulder to shoulder spots. You'll rarely see them on an unstocked stream, unless there are posters up saying it's special reg. And you'll almost never see them stray far from access points. They're rude and they tend to crowd you. They wade out in the middle where the fish are and spook them all because they can't cast far enough. They tend to fish when the water is too warm; fish tend to take those small flies deep; and they overplay fish, so mortality is higher.

And it was true. Because in that area, experienced fishermen tended to stick with spinning gear and bait. Fly fishermen were mostly beginners who didn't know what they were doing.

Boy, what a culture shock when I moved across the state. Pretty much the opposite was true. I've witnessed the opening days with bait fishermen lined up on banks shoulder to shoulder, with rods laying on forked sticks and power bait on the bottom. I'd never witnessed anything like that, it was foreign to me. And when I started going up the little brookie streams deep in the woods and occasionally crossed paths with a fly fisherman, it was quite a surprise!